I had a ventilation issue with my newest full cap where the hair directly above the ears is ventilated predominantly upward instead of down.

Talking to my stylist we concluded that these full caps were ventilated to give the hair VOLUME on the sides, which would be a desirable quality if the hair is kept longer, but becomes a serious problem if the hair is cut short. He has cut it down to about 1"+ in that area and the hairs were sticking straight toward the sky, and we still had to go even shorter to get the right look.

This ties in with a theory I have been tossing around for awhile now about full caps- I just don't think the factory is used to ventilating a full cap for men. More accurately, they aren't accounting for the fact that the hair might be cut short in this area. These units have also tended to come back with too much density and lacking definition in the temple point areas, which would add to this theory. If you are a woman or are keeping your hair LONGER, none of these details matter. When you go short, you can start to have problems.

I am working with John to try to develop a certain ventilation style for full caps that allows for the hair to be cut short. I sent him a detailed email and he forwarded it to the factory, so hopefully with all of this fresh interest in full caps in the future we will have the option to make a distinction of how the hair should be ventilated if we intend to cut the unit shorter than a few inches in length. (Just tell them you want it "JRob style", hehe!)

Anyway, I sent a couple of the full caps back to the factory to have the issue "officially" corrected, but in the meantime I am essentially out of useable hair so I had to keep one unit until the others can be fixed. My stylist used a relaxer that is specifically made for processed hair, and it seems to have done the trick. Of course only time will tell whether or not the relaxer placed too much stress on the hair, but for the short term it seems like a viable solution for full cap wearers who have issues with the hair ventilation that otherwise cannot be resolved.

very interesting. I have had the same problems with the sides ventilation in my full caps. That's why I cut the sides so short. I'd like to know more about using this relaxer. Can you give the names of the products and how to use it? But I'd also like to order it so that it comes out right the first time. I hope the factory is willing to listen to your concerns and work toward doing these differently in the future. Also, maybe we should be requesting flatbacks instead of freestyle??

dino Wrote:very interesting. I have had the same problems with the sides ventilation in my full caps. That's why I cut the sides so short. I'd like to know more about using this relaxer. Can you give the names of the products and how to use it? But I'd also like to order it so that it comes out right the first time. I hope the factory is willing to listen to your concerns and work toward doing these differently in the future. Also, maybe we should be requesting flatbacks instead of freestyle??

The product he used was made by CHI. I searched high and lo online and it looks like it must be a pro only product as I cannot find it anywhere. I remember he had one that was for "virgin, non-color treated hair" (or something like that), and there was another one specifically for chemically treated hair.

I wouldn't try this until I figure out whether or not it has substantially weakened the hair. It kind of concerns me that the hair in that area is now essentially "limp" and has no body whatsoever. I don't mind that it is now very flexible, but I just wonder if it is going to send it over the edge as far as making it too fragile.

I really hope this works without damaging the hair because as I am sure you know it would be very helpful to be able to re-direct some of the hair in certain areas of these full caps. I tend to find some funky ventilation at the top of the temples sometimes and it would be nice to be able to gently point the hair in the right direction :arrow: